Our Fitness Blog

3 Reasons So Many New Year's Resolutions Fail

New Year’s is synonymous in most people’s minds with setting resolutions. There is just something about the fresh start of a new year to get people excited to turn over a new leaf, leave their bad habits behind and start something new.

Unfortunately, starting is as far as the majority of people get.

What about finishing?

Starting is easy, fun, and gives you a sort of ‘high’. Your adrenaline is up and you feel sure this is the time it will be different.

So, why do so many people make New Year’s resolutions and not stick with them?

Here are a 3 reasons why New Years’ Resolutions often don’t work, followed by how to plan better and smarter so that you aren’t another statistic in 2015.

#1 THE GOAL IS TOO EXTREME:

When it comes to adding a new behavior or eliminating an old behavior, most people tend to set new behaviors that are so extreme that they set themselves up for failure. Take exercise for example: if you are currently pretty sedentary or hardly active at all I would not recommend you make a goal to workout 6 days a week for the year 2015 or to do two workouts a day for the first 12 weeks of 2015.

TRUTH: a moderate plan done consistently is better than a brilliant plan never executed.

If you’re new to exercise, you will be sore the first few times or even first few weeks. You need to give your body enough down time in between these sessions to recover or you set yourself up for injury and mental discouragement.

A BETTER PLAN:

Set a smaller goal (it’s really NOT a small goal if you complete it!) of just working out twice a week for a month, then 3 times a week the following month. Have a calendar that you use only for this activity and make nice big X’s on the days you go exercise. You will enjoy looking back on your progress, and after just two weeks you will not want to break your streak of success, so you’ll be more likely to keep it up.

Avoid using words like no, never, and none. These extreme words are so terrifying for so many people that the goal stresses them out more than excites them. No chocolate in 2015. Ever. That goal most likely won’t happen. Add healthier choices IN. Eat breakfast, drink the water you’re supposed to, eat every 2.5-3.5 hours, etc….This will drastically improve your metabolism without ever saying the word “NO”. Make it a habit to log into your 9Round Nutrition portal often, to keep your foods on track. Read the intro to the Nutrition Journal again as a refresher.

#2 YOU ARE STILL LOOKING FOR THE SHORTCUTS:

If you haven’t ever tried a fitness shortcut, you’re one of the few. Media perpetuates the constant fairy tale that a pill or magic device is “finally available” that melts the fat right off your body despite the fact that you’ve made no physical or nutrition changes.

Once we can stop being tempted by curiosity that these methods work and simply accept that it is always going to come right back to eating right and exercising smart, you will put your focus right where it needs to be. Don’t get distracted!

A BETTER UNDERSTANDING:

There is only one fat burner on the planet: muscle.

There is only one way to tone your muscle: exercise.

There’s only one way to get your muscles to ‘show’: right nutrition. (Not diets.)

There’s only one way to combine all of these ingredients and get them to work: consistency.

Don’t waiver when you don’t see results as soon as you thought you would. It is still working and results are right underneath if you just keep on keeping on! Body physiology shows quickly sometimes in some ways and at times the next portion of visible progress shows up slower. It’s the nature of the ‘beast’, but when it shows up, bam! It’s awesome!

#3 YOU AREN’T DISGUSTED ENOUGH WITH YOUR CURRENT BEHAVIOR:

Most people believe that they want it bad enough, but their actions simply show that they really don’t. Please don’t misunderstand me if you’re frustrated with your results, but, you have to be honest with yourself. If you really, really, REALLLLLLY despise your jelly belly and the idea of going out next summer with the same stomach that you have right now is the most repulsive thing in the world, then you will truly do what it takes until it’s done to get that waistline you are wanting, even when it’s not easy.

It won’t always be easy.

Some days will be easy and some days will be tougher. You’ll have to choose your waistline over certain things like overeating, consuming alcohol, or French fries instead of brown rice. You will have to make different choices than your surrounding friends’ are choosing on the weekends if they do not have the same goals as you. You will have to be strong, but it will be worth it. Often people stop doing what really is working under the surface because they don’t see results as fast as they anticipated and they get discouraged.

Patience is key. Keep focused and don’t quit even when the time limit in your mind is up, because under the surface, change is happening. If you quit, you’ll never get to see the magic that was bubbling up.

Remember, every photo that motivates you has a person in it that said, “No” to temptations in order to get the body they wanted. They definitely made sacrifices and that’s the only reason they have the body that inspires you today. They said no to their temptations so they could say yes to the results they were after. If you can remind yourself of these people when you are feeling tempted, it puts your mind in a different place. It puts you in a category of people who live their lives to motivate others.

A BETTER MENTALITY: You simply must use the powerful emotion of disgust to motivate you. Many fitness gurus will state that their initial catalyst that pushed them into motion, (serious motion) was a photo they saw of themselves and they felt completely repulsed by the sight of their own skin. I’m not talking about a form of low self-esteem, I’m talking about the opposite:

Something inside you that says, “I DESERVE TO LOOK BETTER THAN THIS! I DESERVE TO LOVE WHAT I SEE WHEN I LOOK IN THE MIRROR!” Dig deep into yourself until you find that strong feeling and you’ll set off a power that is unstoppable inside yourself.

It makes me so happy to know how many people have realized their fitness goals through our 9Round 30 Minute Fitness program. From toning up those last few pounds to losing over 100 pounds, 9Round revolutionizes the fitness industry because we keep it fun and motivating so you get results! If you're ready to take charge of 2015, contact a 9Round nearest to you at http://www.9round.com/kickboxing-classes and try your first session for free. See what all the buzz is about!

Heather Hudson has been with 9Round since inception in 2008 and is COO and Co-Founder of 9Round Franchising. She is a black belt in Shotokan Karate and grew up with a passion for fitness and overall wellness.